


the last of the echoes

by boxysmiles



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by BioShock, Kind of space-zombies, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Violence, Somewhat Ambiguous/Open Ending, space travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28694667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boxysmiles/pseuds/boxysmiles
Summary: There's a piece of history missing.Centuries ago, humanity attempted to create civilisation on six different planets. Only five are known. One failed, leaving nothing but haunting figures that have since lost their minds and souls. Yangyang, the first person to ever explore the sixth planet, does not expect to find any humanity remaining.And then he meets Donghyuck.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Liu Yang Yang
Comments: 26
Kudos: 49
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	the last of the echoes

**Author's Note:**

> A massive, massive thank you to my [beta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rojorese) who helped me out with this so, so much <3 thank you for all your help and support !! <3 <3

Yangyang skitters across the marbled floors, hitting the railing with a pained gasp.

It's a long way down if he falls.

His gun had slipped out of his hands when he'd fallen, and he curses as he scrambles up, fingers barely circling around the weapon.

He barely moves in time.

The woman that’s been following him roars in frustration as she hits the railing instead of Yangyang. The railing buckles, a creaking warning that it's not able to sustain people flinging themselves at it, but unfortunately holds up.

She recovers quickly, and he moves out of her reach, almost stumbling over his own feet as he reels backwards. _Fuck_ , he really needs some space from her. Enough so he doesn't have to smell the stench of rot and decay seeping out from her.

She lunges for him once again, and he turns to start running. The desperate urge just to survive is the only thing keeping him moving.

It's his first physical encounter with one of _them_.

He thinks of her as a woman, but that's not quite right. She's not a human, not anymore.

She's a remnant — the only sign of what was once, long ago, humanity on this planet. Though what makes her human is long gone, her consciousness twisted and marred until it disappeared entirely. There is no consciousness, no soul left in her unaging body.

 _Zombies_ , Kun had warned him, before Yangyang agreed to the mission. Just not the brain-eating, infectious kind. They're still murderous, however, even if it's not for human brains. It's for any supplement they can get of the genetic enhancements they once had.

Thankfully, she's not too agile. Yangyang imagines it has something to do with the fact that human bodies are not made to withstand automation after the soul dies, but he can't really confirm that right now. It is fascinating though, even if it's terrifying. He'll ask Ten about it later, once he's returned home and is no longer actively running for his life and only left with a weapon he barely knows how to use.

He’d managed to acquire his gun from a long-ago fallen body when he first entered the city, but it’s unlike any weapon he’s handled before. It doesn’t fire plasma, like Yangyang is used to. It fires metal ammunition — bullets, if Yangyang remembers Kun’s information correctly. He’d only managed to fire one shot earlier, the recoil of it surprising him, but he’d missed.

Taking another chance, he whirls around. Firing off the gun, this time he strikes the body chasing him.

She howls out — less out of pain, and more with outrage. She stumbles but does not go down, and Yangyang fires off another shot.

She goes down, and does not get up.

Yangyang slows down, coming to a stop. He's reluctant to approach her, wary, even though he knows she won’t be moving again. She still doesn't move, even as he nudges her with the toe of his boots just to be certain.

His heart is still racing, and he forces himself to take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm it. Then he regrets it, because her stench is now closer and worse than ever. Blocking his nose, he crouches down, searching through her clothes for anything that might be valuable.

There's not much. Coins that should work on some of the vending machines around, but little else of value. Slightly annoyed and now very exhausted, he stands up, taking a moment to figure out where he is.

She'd chased him away from his intended course. He’s meant to follow a strict path, investigating important areas that will help in his investigation, but now he’s deviated considerably.

"Well, shit," he says to himself, looking around. It's something almost like a shopping centre — there's stores surrounding him, though they're mostly boarded shut. The railing he'd hit is surrounding a large open area in the middle of the floor, an open space for trees to grow indoors.

The plants aren't familiar to him, though. They're glowing fluorescent, bright blues and pinks stretching between the different floors. He looks past them to see the windows, running from bottom to the top of the building.

The view outside the windows makes it seem as though the building had been placed in the midst of a rainforest — there’s trees that stretch above and beyond what Yangyang can see, with waterfalls so close it’s like Yangyang can reach out and touch them.

But he had noticed something when he first came to this city. The way that the breathtaking view flickers, something shuttering over the windows for a moment.

A glitch. A faulty hologram, projected onto the windows. An illusion for all those that lived here.

It's impressive that it still holds up, even after the city had been deserted by humanity so many years ago.

Yangyang watches for another moment, narrowing his eyes as the hologram flickers. So far, all the glitches have been quick, small disruptions in the screen — but this one is longer, the image changing.

For just a moment, Yangyang sees something else. Sees a land that looks like a junkyard, with scrapped metals and rubbish to make mountains. What was once buildings completely destroyed, left to ruin.

The image flickers back, and Yangyang takes a moment to observe everything around him.

Most noticeably, it is quiet.

It is so unnervingly quiet.

He breaks it with a forceful breath, just to hear something.

The following moments are not so quiet. Suddenly, something shatters the sounds of only Yangyang's breathing echoing around the building. The sound of another roar — of someone, something, else in this building, all too close to him.

There's more than one, he realises. There's more than one other of these people, of those _things_ , coming towards him.

Not wanting to make a sound, he swallows down the curse that's rising in his throat, and starts to trace his path. His best chance to get back on route is to work back, find his way back to something familiar, and go from there.

The problem is, he quickly realises, is that the sound of other people is coming from the same direction.

The roars seem to multiply — there's more than two coming towards him, and he hurries to backpedal. It's fine, he tells himself, he'll figure out another way back. He can loop it, it's _fine_ , it's just a little detour for now.

Very quickly, it becomes very much _not_ fine.

Four of them suddenly come onto the floor, just on the opposite side of the hall he's on. Their eyes scan for just a moment, then seem to lock on him all at the same time.

His stomach sinks as they snarl at him, hurrying over themselves to try and get to their new target. He fires a shot, miraculously hitting one of them well enough for them to go down.

There's still three left, however.

His gun clicks empty when he goes for the next shot.

"You're fucking _kidding me!_ " He shouts out in frustration, then quickly turns on his heels and runs.

They're slower than him, but they have endless stamina. Yangyang will slow down, but these creatures will not. It's only a matter of time before he can't outrun them anymore.

He turns back to look at them, trying to gauge the distance he's made. It's not a lot, and he has no idea where he is right now. He's lucky enough that he hasn't hit a dead-end, but he fears it'll happen soon enough.

A shot rings out, and one of them goes down. Two more shots, and then two more down. Yangyang fired none of them.

Yangyang almost stops in surprise, stumbling over his own feet. He goes to turn forward again, just as something clasps around his arm.

"There's more coming, you better hurry up."

Yangyang lets out a strangled scream in surprise. There's a boy next to him, grabbing his arm and running with him. Yangyang never heard him approach, never saw him until right at this moment.

Almost falling again, he's only saved by the stranger pulling insistently at his arm and forcing him to right his feet. He pulls Yangyang along twisted hallways and corridors, ducking under half-destroyed doorways.

Finally, just as Yangyang fears either his legs or lungs will give out, they enter a large room. The stranger lets go of him, moving to the doorway and pressing a button.

As fast as he can blink, security doors slam down and seal the entry. Hopefully enough to keep the creatures out, and probably enough to keep Yangyang locked in.

Yangyang looks at the boy as he turns back to face Yangyang. Though he looks harried, he looks so entirely human. Around the same age as Yangyang, which shouldn't be possible.

There shouldn't be any humans here. There isn't, as far as Kun told him.

The boy gets close, sticking a hand out.

"I'm Donghyuck," he greets, and Yangyang warily reaches out to complete the handshake.

Yangyang perhaps expects it, but the boy does not smell of decay and rot. He looks and smells so entirely human, not like the remnants of those left on this planet from so long ago.

"Yangyang," he replies, still slightly out of breath and very, very confused.

Donghyuck gives him a warm smile. He isn't out of breath at all — like there's no lingering rush of adrenaline, like he hasn't just saved Yangyang's life. "What brings you here, Yangyang?"

Yangyang is wary. Uneasiness is sitting restlessly under his skin.

A human should not, _can not_ , be here.

And yet, had Donghyuck saved his life.

"Well, I was sent to do something exploring," he finally offers. Donghyuck tilts his head in consideration.

"Interesting. I didn't think they'd ever let anyone find out about this," Donghyuck replies, hand gesturing around vaguely to encapsulate _this_. The whole planet.

Yangyang hums. "It took a long time. Lots of... not so legal methods, probably. My leader has been trying to find this place for a while."

Donghyuck strides across the room. It looks like a large office of some kind, and Donghyuck seems right at home as he hops up to sit on a table, placing his weapon down beside him.

"Tell me, what year is it?" Donghyuck asks, seeming to be genuinely interested in the answer.

"Um, 2551."

Donghyuck nods to himself. "Wow. It really did take a long time, huh?"

Yangyang goes to ask something. Something like _how long is that, exactly? How long have you been here?_

He stops himself, because neither of those questions seem to fit right. So he remains silent, studying the room. This office isn't exempted from the illusion in the mirrors — it's just that this one shows the view of sandy beaches, though they don't quite look the same as Yangyang knows.

They look like something out of Yangyang's history lessons. The state of the world from so many years ago.

"I've always wanted to go to a beach again," Donghyuck tells him, taking Yangyang's attention away from the mirrors. His legs are swinging back and forth on the desk, and he looks young. Too young to be on a planet like this, all too familiar with fighting and running for his life.

"They're not as nice anymore," Yangyang tells him, not really knowing why he says it. Donghyuck's attention turns to him, a sad smile on his lips. It doesn't look quite right — it seems familiar to Donghyuck, but Yangyang doesn't think it's something that looks like it belongs on him.

Before he can do something strange, just to see what it looks like to see Donghyuck properly smile, Donghyuck speaks again.

"Do you know what happened here, Yangyang?" Donghyuck asks. The sad smile has fallen at least, though he looks serious, gaze intense as he stares at Yangyang.

"There's not a lot of information," Yangyang replies truthfully. No information for public knowledge, at least.

Centuries ago, they sent humanity to different planets, trying to build civilisation on them. With varying success rates, there are five planets officially listed. Kun has been investigating into the sixth one — never mentioned, scrubbed from any history teachings, with little information that can be traced.

Not just Kun, though. This has been years of research from Kun's mentors, and their mentors and the mentors before them, and then the first mentors — the original searchers, those that refused to give up investigating. Those that remember seeing family members and friends off into space.

Those that never heard anything from those people again. Those that the world tried to make them forcefully forget about their family and friends. Hidden forever from history, from governments and media.

It's only Kun that has managed to find this planet. An even more recent discovery about finding something close to humanity, a sign of life. And then, soon following, the discovery and suspicions about the zombie-like state of those remaining. It's been years in the making, and Yangyang is the first to walk amongst it all.

"Right," Donghyuck says, nodding his head. "They'd make sure of that, wouldn't they? It's a failed experiment, you realise?"

Yangyang nods. This much they knew already — the only reason something like this would be hidden is because something went horribly, catastrophically, wrong, and they did not want the rest of humanity to find out.

Donghyuck looks back at the view of the ocean. "This planet gave us many opportunities. Too many, in the end. Things went wrong so quickly, and they managed to interfere with our communication to other planets before we could even ask for help. Then they cut us from communicating entirely."

Standing from the desk, Donghyuck walks over to some type of computer. He sits down on the flimsy chair, typing away.

The projection on the window changes. It acts as a large screen, and Donghyuck clicks through folders until he finds images, and Yangyang walks closer so he can see the details of it.

The photos are displayed like a large collage, and Yangyang realises that they're all photos of this planet. Long before the decay and destruction.

There's people in these images — walking around, talking to each other, in a city that's thriving with bright lights and gorgeous scenery.

It should've been utopia. It should have been — and yet it fell apart, and became a dystopian wasteland instead.

"The planet allowed us to develop in certain areas. Genetic enhancements being our biggest one. It started with cures to illnesses, and then it started to expand. Giving people strengths that aren't humanly possible; abilities to control things, to control elements. Powers that shouldn’t be possible."

Donghyuck changes the images, showing the same areas, but now the people do not walk or talk together. They stand alone in long lines, waiting for something, uncaring about the world around them.

"They made them so accessible, like they were just candy from vending machines. People got greedy, wanted more enhancements than they could handle. Even if the body held up, the mind and soul fell apart."

Yangyang hums as he looks over the images. Donghyuck changes them again, and Yangyang starts to see the uprising violence. Fights between people losing their humanity, desperate and greedy for power.

“It didn’t take long for a civil war to break out. Every person for themselves, as you can see. Those of us left, who never took the enhancements… There was nothing we could do. We couldn’t ask anyone for help. We could only run, and try to survive.”

Donghyuck changes the screens once more. There is nothing left of the utopia except for destruction, decay, and death.

Yangyang takes a deep, shuddering breath in, and turns back to Donghyuck. Donghyuck takes something from the computer, holding it in his hand as he walks over to Yangyang.

“You’ll take this back with you, won’t you?” Donghyuck asks him, reaching his empty hand out for Yangyang.

Yangyang lets him take his hand. Donghyuck is clearly waiting for an answer though, and Yangyang nods. Donghyuck smiles at him, raising his other hand and passing over the object to Yangyang.

It's a small drive of some kind — Yangyang's seen them used before, in order to access older historical documents. His fingers clench protectively around it, and he pockets it. His other hand is still holding Donghyuck's.

"It's the history of this place. Everything that happened. It should be enough. I've been waiting a long time for someone to find us, after all. It's given me time to get everything together at least."

Yangyang takes Donghyuck's other hand, now holding both of them. "I could... I could take you back, if you let me."

Donghyuck smiles, shaking his head. Yangyang's heart sinks.

"No. You can't. You know I'm not really here, don't you? Not really, not anymore. This, here, what I am — it's just what's left over. We didn't just have genetic enhancements for powers. What I am now is just... a corporeal impression. A visual projection, as real as the windows you see."

"But I can touch you," Yangyang says, tightening his hold.

Donghyuck squeezes back. "It's good, isn't it? It's a good projection. Our technology really was rather advanced. But I'm not the real Donghyuck — I'm just part of his, well, _my_ consciousness. Created to last for just for one mission, one reason. And now you're here, and that mission is fulfilled."

The weight of the drive feels so, so heavy in Yangyang's pockets. Donghyuck's hands feel even heavier.

"It's been so long," Donghyuck continues to say, swinging their hands like he's a small child. "I've waited so long, and I’m so close now. Thank you."

Donghyuck gives him a large, genuine smile. A sign of what Donghyuck was really like, before the war took everything from him.

"Before I go, though. Just one last mission,” Donghyuck says, “Let's get you home, Yangyang."

**Author's Note:**

> donghyuck: baby i'm not even here. i'm a hallucination.
> 
> a massive thank you to the mods for this round <3 u have my whole heart <3  
> i really had a lot of fun with this even though i suffered with it, and feel like i'll come back to these chars and this world again hehe ~  
> once again thank you to my lovely [beta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rojorese) for their infinite patience and encouragement <3 and to those who also provided encouragement and support i love u all, this one really kicked my ass so thank you bc this wouldn't have survived without y'all <3 
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/shiningstarhwa)


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